Balloon bursting game with air pump

ABSTRACT

A balloon bursting game. The game apparatus mainly comprises an air pump, a tube connecting a balloon and the air pump, and a frame-like member with a plurality if sharpened members. The air pump is manually operated to gradually inflate the balloon. The frame-like member and the balloon are disposed on a stand-like member. The frame-like member is designed and positioned such that the outer surface of a sufficiently inflated balloon presses against the plurality of sharpened members. The balloon will burst when pressed with sufficient force against the plurality of sharpened members. A plurality of game apparatuses may be placed in proximity and a player is assigned to each of the game apparatuses. The player who is the fastest to inflate and burst the balloon is declared as the winner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPPLICATION

This is a utility patent application which claims benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/672,369, filed Apr. 18, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in fullherein.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material thatis subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objectionto the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office fileor records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to a game apparatus, and moreparticularly to a balloon bursting game apparatus.

Many games that involve bursting balloons are known in the art. Avariety of apparatuses, methods and playing procedures have been adoptedfor these games. Typically, the game apparatuses of such games include aballoon and some type of balloon-piercing structure. In general, theprimary object of these games is to either prevent the balloon frombursting, or to be the first player to burst the balloon.

Several balloon-bursting games have been developed in art. For example,U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,387 to Revermann discloses a balloon buster game.The game device includes a game board on which playing pieces travelalong a path from a start to a goal. The game device also includes ascrew operated balloon press for bursting a balloon, which determinesthe distance to be traveled by a game piece on the board.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,593 to Wood discloses a balloon bursting game, whichcomprises a box divided into multiple chambers by means of partitions.An inflated balloon is placed in a chamber having a top with a hole. Anelastic partition is supported above the chamber having a plurality ofneedles fixed to it such that the needles extend perpendicularly intothe hole. A partition with a plurality of mutually spaced holes ispositioned on top of the elastic partition. A plurality of marbles aredropped by the players through the holes. When sufficient number ofmarbles rest on the elastic partition, it is stretched downward to forcethe needles through the hole in top of the chamber, thereby piercing theballoon.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,656 to Cooper discloses a balloon game system, whichcomprises an opaque box with an open bottom. The top surface of the boxprovides a playing surface, which includes a plurality of mutuallyspaced pre-cut nail-receiving perforations. The game system furthercomprises a plurality of needles, a hammer for driving the needles intothe top surface of the box through the pre-cut nail-receivingperforations, a plurality of inflated balloons that are placed insidethe box and a chance device to determine the number of nails. Eachplayer must attempt to drive these nails into the pre-cut nail-receivingperforations without bursting the balloons.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,261 to Sims discloses a game that includes agameboard, on which tokens are moved through a number of obstacles inaccordance with the number cast on the dice. The game also comprises athree dimensional fish having jaws, a tail and a dorsal fin. By rotatingthe dorsal fin, which in turn is coupled to a threaded actuatorassembly, the upper jaw of the fish is moved upwards or downwardsdepending on the direction of rotation of the dorsal fin. An inflatedballoon is placed inside the mouth of the fish. While playing the game,players are required to rotate the dorsal fin when their tokens land onparticular game board spaces. A player is penalized when the balloonbursts as a result of its contact with the upper jaw of the fish.

Although the above games involve bursting of the balloons, the gameapparatuses are substantially different from the present invention inthat they fail to incorporate a manually actuated pumping device featureinto the game. Moreover, the present invention aims at providing aballoon bursting game, wherein game play is a vigorous activity for theplayers.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newballoon bursting game.

A further object is to provide a balloon bursting game, which utilizesan air pump to inflate a balloon.

A further object is to provide a balloon bursting game, which includes aballoon piercing frame-like member to burst the balloon when inflated bythe air pump.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a balloonbursting game, which is suited for testing the competitiveness, speedand strength of the players, serving amusement as well as competitivepurposes. These and other objects of the present invention will becomebetter understood with reference to the appended Summary, Description,and Claims.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a balloon bursting game. The game apparatusmainly includes an air pump, a balloon, a tube connecting the air pumpand the balloon, a balloon stand and a frame-like member with aplurality of sharpened members. The air pump is enclosed in a housing.The game apparatus also includes a stand-like member on which theframe-like member and the balloon are disposed. The frame-like member islocated such that the outer surface of a sufficiently inflated balloonwill press against the plurality of sharpened members.

In order to play the game, the air pump is operated to gradually inflatethe balloon. The balloon finally bursts when it presses with sufficientforce against the sharpened members. The object of the game is to be thefastest to inflate and burst the balloon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1A and 1B are illustrations of perspective views of twoembodiments of the balloon bursting game apparatus in accordance withthe present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate side views of the air pump.

FIG. 3A is an illustration of a side view of the balloon stand inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3B is an illustration of a perspective view of the balloon stand inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4A is an illustration of the front view of the balloon stand withthe frame-like member-and partially inflated balloon.

FIG. 4B is an illustration of the front view of the balloon stand withthe frame-like member and the inflated balloon that is about to burst.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a perspective view of the outcome of theballoon bursting game in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURES—REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10 . . . Air Pump-   11 . . . Balloon Stand-   12 . . . Tube-   13 . . . Balloon-   14 . . . Frame-Like Member-   15 . . . ‘T’-shaped Handle-   16 . . . Piston Member-   17 . . . Hollow Cylinder-   18 . . . Pump Hose-   19 . . . Outer Housing-   20 . . . Connector-   21 . . . Nozzle-   22 . . . Opening-   23 . . . Sharpened Member

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of a balloonbursting game apparatus is illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5. The presentinvention is a balloon bursting game apparatus that mainly includes anair pump 10, a balloon stand 11, a tube 12 connecting the air pump 10and a balloon 13, and a frame-like member 14 disposed on top of theballoon stand 11.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the air pump 10 includes a ‘T’-shaped handle 15, apiston member 16, a hollow cylinder 17, a pump hose 18 and a rigid outerhousing 19. The piston member 16 is connected at the bottom of the‘T’-shaped handle 15. The piston member 16 is enclosed in the hollowcylinder 17 and it can slide along the length of the hollow cylinder 17by reciprocating the ‘T’-shaped handle 15. The tube 12 is connected tothe pump hose 18 by means of a connector 20. The hollow cylinder portionof the air pump 10 is enclosed in the rigid outer housing 19.

Referring still to FIG. 2B, when the ‘T’-shaped handle 15 is pusheddownwards, the piston member 16 forces the air out of the cylinderthrough the pump hose 18. This process may be repeated several times byreciprocating the handle member 15.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the balloon stand 11 is a hollow verticalstructure. The balloon stand 11 shown in the figures is for illustrativepurposes only and it may comprise many other suitable designs. A nozzle21 is attached on top surface of the balloon stand 11. A first end ofthe tube 12 is connected to the pump hose 18 of the air pump 10 and asecond end is connected to the nozzle 21. A balloon 13 is secured on topof the nozzle. The balloon stand 11 also includes an opening 22 for thetube 12 to pass through and reach the nozzle 21 on the top surface ofthe balloon stand 11.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the frame-like member 14 mainly includes aplurality of sharpened members 23. The frame-like member 14 is mountedat suitable location on the balloon stand 11. Alternately, the balloonstand 11 and the frame-like member 14 may be integrated and made as asingle piece, as shown in FIG. 1B. The frame-like member 14 may comprisemany designs. The main criterion in the design and position of theframe-like member 14 is that the outer surface of a sufficientlyinflated balloon must come in contact with the plurality of sharpenedmembers 23.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, in order to play the game, a balloon 13 issecured on the nozzle 21. The air pump 10 is then used to inflate theballoon 13. The balloon 13, is gradually inflated and finally burstswhen its outer surface presses with sufficient force against thesharpened members 23. In a competitive/amusement setting, a plurality ofgame apparatuses may be placed in proximity and a player is assigned toeach of the game apparatuses. The player who is the fastest to inflateand burst the balloon is declared as the winner.

All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanyingclaims, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by alternative featuresserving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly statedotherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each featuredisclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent orsimilar features.

Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for”performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specificfunction, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause asspecified in 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6. In particular, the use of“step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisionsof 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, various modifications and substitutions may be madethereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has beendescribed by way of illustration and not limitation.

1. A balloon bursting game comprising; an air pump; a housing for theair pump; a tube connecting a balloon and said air pump, said tubeincludes a nozzle at one of its ends to conveniently attach differenttypes of balloons, said balloon is inflated using said air pump; aframe-like member with a plurality of inwardly pointing sharpenedmembers, said frame-like member and said balloon disposed on astand-like member; wherein said balloon, in its deflated state, ispositioned between said plurality of sharpened members such that saidballoon will burst while it is being gradually inflated and pressed withsufficient force against said plurality of sharpened members.
 2. Theballoon bursting game of claim 1, wherein the frame-like member is ofsuitable design and size such that the balloon, when sufficientlyinflated, presses against said plurality of sharpened members.
 3. Theballoon bursting game of claim 1, wherein the frame-like member,stand-like member and housing for the air pump comprise differentdesigns and sizes.
 4. The balloon bursting game of claim 1, wherein thestand-like member and the frame-like member are integrated and made as asingle piece.
 5. The balloon bursting game of claim 1, wherein theframe-like member and the nozzle are disposed on top of the stand-likemember.
 6. The balloon bursting game of claim 1, wherein the balloon, inits deflated state, may contain confetti, flour or the like to providevisual excitement at the time of bursting.
 7. A balloon bursting gamecomprising: an air pump; a tube connecting a balloon and said air pump,said balloon is inflated using said air pump; a frame-like member with aplurality of sharpened members, wherein said balloon, in its deflatedstate, is positioned between said plurality of sharpened members suchthat said balloon will burst while it is being gradually inflated andpressed with sufficient force against said plurality of sharpenedmembers.
 8. The balloon bursting game of claim 7, wherein the frame-likemember is of suitable design and size such that the balloon, whensufficiently inflated, presses against said plurality of sharpenedmembers.
 9. The balloon bursting game of claim 7, wherein the frame-likemember comprises different designs and sizes.
 10. The balloon burstinggame of claim 7, wherein said game further comprises a housing for theair pump.
 11. The balloon bursting game of claim 7, wherein a first endof the tube connects to the air pump and a second end of the air tubeconnects to the balloon.
 12. The balloon bursting game of claim 11,wherein the second end of the tube includes a nozzle to convenientlyattach different types of balloons.
 13. The balloon bursting game ofclaim 7, wherein said game further comprises a stand-like member formounting the frame-like member and the balloon.
 14. The balloon burstinggame of claim 13, wherein one of the ends of the tube includes a nozzleto conveniently secure different types of balloons, said nozzle ismounted on top of the stand-like member.
 15. The balloon bursting gameof claim 7, wherein said game further comprises a stand-like member,said stand-like member and the frame-like member are integrated and madeas a single piece.
 16. The balloon bursting game of claim 7, wherein theballoon, in its deflated state, may contain confetti, flour or the liketo provide visual excitement at the time of bursting.